Michael Jackson spotted at Dubai mall, say reports

Nov 14, 2005, 20:01 GMT

A file photo of US pop star Michael Jackson Friday, 03 June 2005. EPA/CONNIE ARAMAKI

Dubai - Media reports said pop singer Michael Jackson was found in a ladies toilet at a mall in the emirate of Dubai before taking refuge in a bookshop when crowds gathered and police arrived on the scene.

Newspapers in the United Arab Emirates, where Dubai is one of the seven sheikhdoms, quoted shop keepers saying they had seen Jackson in Ibn Battuta Mall.

Shop workers claimed to have seen him make a separate visit there two weeks ago. Shoppers at Ibn Battuta Mall were also convinced they saw Jackson there on Saturday evening, said the local papers.

Jackson entered a ladies toilet in the mall and when he was discovered there he went to a bookshop. Police arrived on the scene in large numbers, said Gulf News.

According to an Australian shop worker who spoke to the newspaper, there was no doubt that Jackson went to the mall.

'It was definitely him,' she said. She claimed Jackson was wearing an abaya (a long robe that covers the whole body) along with the traditional woman's headscarf during the visit.

One of her colleagues realised it was Michael Jackson beneath the disguise and then 'spoke to him for about 15 minutes' before he headed for the cinema with his companions, she said.

Apparently Jackson was with his children, a male friend in national dress and a team of security people, said the paper.

Ten weeks ago the so-called King of Pop visited Dubai for a short visit, during which he toured the sites and enjoyed a bite to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe and the Burj Al Arab.

Jackson, who is living in Bahrain, was accompanied by a son of the Bahraini King Hamad Bin Eisa Al Khalifa and by UAE champion rally driver Mohammad Ben Sulayem.

When contacted by Gulf News yesterday, Ben Sulayem declined to say whether or not Jackson was currently in Dubai. 'It's for him to say. Maybe he doesn't want to say,' he said.

Jackson's visit in late August attracted worldwide media attention, with dozens of newspapers carrying pictures of a smiling Jackson posing with Bahrain's Shaikh Abdullah Bin Hamad Al Khalifa. Jackson visited the offices of developer Nakheel and saw The World and The Palm projects.

Jackson's sunny demeanour during his visit to Dubai contrasted sharply with his state when being tried earlier this year on child abuse charges. He was cleared on all charges.